At Year’s End

Four more days to live in this year, 2022. When I was eighteen, I did not think of living in 2023, that was so far away. Yet, in four days I will be living in 2023. The world and way of doing things when I was eighteen, is gone with the wind.

Yesterday, I got a new stove. While reading the owners manual for this new stove, I discovered it is a “smart stove”. In this time many appliance are “smart appliances”. Ok, I will admit, I do not know what to do with a smart stove. From experience I have learned through the trial of hard knocks, you do not leave a stove unattended when you are cooking. If you leave a stove cooking unattended the smoke alarms go off to let you know the food is done. Edible maybe, but not tasty. Most often is only good for the trash once you get it out of the pan. There have been times, I threw away the pan with what used to be food still stuck to it. I will not download the app and use the “smart” features of cooking while I am not present.

What will 2023 be like?

Will my husband be working or will I be the one going to a job? Where will we move to? That is a big question for me and my husband in 2023. We are hoping for an answer to that question in January.

An exciting adventure in 2023 we have already started is my husband making leather products such as belts, wallets, purses and such. My husband I have done leathercraft work when we were teenagers and as young adults. I taught leathercraft when my children were in 4-H. We both enjoy working and creating with leather. And we both have kept and moved many times our tools and equipment, although we have not used those items for decades. We currently are repurposing an old upright piano ( a piano from my youth, that the many moves and staying in storage have done irreparable harm to ) into a workbench for leather work. Is this going to be a new source of income in 2023? Possibly. He already has five orders for belts, and one purse.

I am thinking of 2022 as I plan for 2023. I am a sheep farmer, and every January I create a business plan for the sheep farm. I am collecting numbers of sheep, lambs born, sheep sold and lost to make business projections for 2023. I have desires and goals of how to raise the best quality Dorper sheep. I am starting to put those goals on paper.

Then there is the changes in my lifestyle I want to make. I want to exercise more. I do exercise when I do chores. But I want to have a set schedule of walking and time for yoga, not just when I can “fit it in”. Since my husband has been home for the past month, it has been hard to fit in yoga and walking time.

We eat healthy, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, limited amount of carbs, sugars and desserts. I look at our diet and ask if maybe I could do better in preparing meals even more healthy than what we are currently eating.

I have a plan on getting rid of some extra weight that I carry. Setting a schedule to walk and do yoga will help me to achieve this goal in 2023. Learning on how to eat an even healthier diet will also help both of us to get rid of some extra weight.

Getting rid of extra stuff. We are both in agreement to get rid of those things we do not use. This will greatly assist in the moving process as we will have less things to load up and move. Getting rid of unused items will also help free us of the clutter, and assist in being more organized. When we moved to our current home, we moved in a rush. There are things that were thrown on a shelf in a barn that we have not looked at in twelve years. Decluttering these areas will free up space to organize and use the space more efficiently.

The year 2023 is coming, will be here soon. Are you ready for this next year and what it will bring? Do you have desires or plans for 2023? Have you thought of doing something new in the year 2023? There are so many possibilities.

amtolle